Space Odyssey from Abandoned Mining Space Station

Chapter 69: Chapter 60: The Arrival of Dusk

When Old Wu got through on the phone, he immediately asked the factory director, ”How’s the situation over there?”

”So far, so good.”

The factory director’s voice sounded a bit more relaxed than before, explaining, ”After all, the Space Station is in such a dangerous place; it has all the basic precautions it should have.”

”And after I reported the incident, the proposal to notify the Military Outpost in advance was also approved.”

”The military will definitely arrive in three days; we can’t possibly fail to hold out for just three days, right?”

”Oh, that’s good.”

Old Wu replied casually and then mentioned Chen Ming, saying, ”I just talked to little Mu.”

The fatigue from the meeting instantly dissipated for the factory director, who immediately asked, ”How is he?”

Old Wu cleared his throat with a cough and relayed everything he discussed with Chen Ming, including his direct inquiry about Chen Ming’s purpose for coming to the Space Station.

The more the factory director listened, the more he felt chills down his spine, unable to stop himself from saying, ”Do you trust him that much? Just directly ask like that?”

”Hey, what do you think?”

Upon hearing Old Wu’s laughter, the factory director calmed down, thought carefully, and said, ”I think it’s not little Mu that you trust; you trust Old Wu. Did you go to see him yesterday?”

Old Wu chuckled twice, not directly answering the factory director’s question.

However, he immediately seemed to tacitly acknowledge the factory director’s guess by saying, ”Old Wu says his character is very good, worth developing a long-term relationship with. The best way is this – I spoke openly and truthfully with him, and he would do the same with us.”

The factory director, somewhat puzzled, asked, ”Really? Wouldn’t such a character be easily betrayed?”

”How would I know if what Old Wu said is true, but with a smart or cautious character, they definitely wouldn’t be easily betrayed.”

”You see, he hasn’t removed his helmet until now. Besides knowing he has a mining ship and is about twenty-something, what else do we know?”

The factory director thought for a moment and said, ”We also know he wants to stay at the Space Station for two years to earn money to buy a spaceship.”

”Tsk.”

Old Wu clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and said, ”Actually, you don’t necessarily have to ask him to spill something, right?”

”Oh?”

The factory director, somewhat surprised, said, ”How did you figure that out?”

Old Wu explained, ”Every move little Mu made since he arrived at the Space Station is recorded on surveillance.”

”As long as he’s not lying, his actions should match what he says.”

”You just need his answers, regardless of whether they’re true or false.”

”If he says something false that doesn’t match, then you need to be wary of him.”

”But if it does match, it means little Mu is genuinely someone new and worth recruiting.”

After hearing Old Wu’s explanation, the factory director didn’t disagree.

So Old Wu continued, ”Anyway, since it doesn’t matter if the answer is true or false, I just tried Old Wu’s method, and it seems quite effective.”

The factory director, holding a different view, said, ”One time doesn’t mean much; we’ll have to wait and see what happens in the future.”

”It’s not like people’s characters change so easily; I tend to trust Old Wu more.”

The factory director didn’t comment on Old Wu’s belief in who, as time would naturally reveal who’s right and wrong, and at least for now, he could trust Chen Ming for a while.

Both sides fell silent for a moment, and the factory director suddenly asked, ”Why would someone like Old Wu come to us?”

”Who knows? Why don’t you go ask him over at Arm Two of the Space Station.”

Old Wu waited for a while without a response, only to realize the factory director had already hung up the phone.

He rolled his eyes, tucked the terminal into his pocket, and headed towards the bar.

The next morning.

Chen Ming followed Old Wu to the tallest Space Station Administration Building in the city of the Space Station.

Upon entering the building, Chen Ming could clearly sense that the atmosphere inside was much heavier than in the city outside.

Faces of several people, who seemed to be of some status, he saw along the way didn’t look good.

Dusk’s arrival seemed to be a sure thing; it was only a matter of time.

After being reminded by Old Wu yesterday, he had already made some preparations, which should be enough to get through it.

Old Wu first took Chen Ming to HR at the maintenance factory, then brought the contract to the factory director’s office.

The next steps were quite simple; once the contract was signed, Chen Ming was officially part of the maintenance factory, becoming one of its members.

However, Chen Ming found himself deep in thought as he looked at the two copies of the contract placed before him.

The contract was a very standard formal work contract, with all terms being fair and just, and the pay was quite good.

Though it was the maintenance factory of the Pirate Space Station, the employment contract was signed with a legitimate company that could be found online, meaning the job was secure.

Now the only issue was that the first line at the beginning of the contract read ”Sinda-Rockwell Labor Services Company Maintenance Management Position Employment Work Contract.”

So Chen Ming was already considering whether to make a run for it.

He had just escaped from an abandoned Mining Space Station of the Sinda Corporation, intending to sever ties with them to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Yet now, he found himself in another related Pirate Space Station linked to Sinda.

It all seemed completely absurd.

Thirty years ago, a legitimate Space Station owned by Sinda in the nearby star system was gone, yet the Pirate Space Station still remained.

Just thinking about it gave him a headache. Chen Ming really didn’t want to get dragged into related matters, but somehow, trouble found its way to him.